The Salvation Army has opened a general practitioner’s office in Prague for the homeless and the poor
Updates: 05.01.2022 12:46
Released: 05.01.2022, 12:46
Prague – The Salvation Army has opened a general practitioner’s office in Prague for the homeless and for the poor and socially excluded. The surgery is in the Bohuslav Bureš Social Services Center, which is operated by the Salvation Army in Prague 7. Medical staff will also provide people without documents or without health insurance. Jan František Krupa, the director of the Salvation Army’s social services, told the press today. The Salvation Army operates a similar surgery in Ostrava. In Prague, homeless people can also be treated in an outpatient clinic in the U Bulhara center, which is run by the Naděje organization.
“The surgery will offer all the services of a general practitioner. The doctor will prescribe on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays,” said general practitioner Andrea Pekárková, who will work in the new surgery. According to estimates by Pekárková, who is a doctor and the dignity of the Salvation Army, ten to 20 patients a day could be performed in the surgery. They will be cared for by a general practitioner and nurses. The doctor will prescribe three days a week, the nurses will be in the surgery on the next working days.
The ambulance will operate as an official medical facility and will have a contract with health insurance companies. The local medical staff will also offer care to uninsured people, which, according to Krupa, requires additional financial resources. The operation of the surgery is now paid for, among other things, from donations from Salvation Army supporters and from a project of the Ministry of Health, which is funded by European funds. According to Krupa, the project should end this year, which is why the operators are working with the ministry to further support the operation of surgeries.
According to Pekárková, people who are able to use the services of the Prague Surgery for the Poor will also be able to use people living in asylums, from socially excluded minorities and others who have limited access to health care. The situation is similar in the facility of the same name in Ostrava, which was opened by the Salvation Army in 2018. “We will provide patients with some services that are generally valid general practitioners free of charge. added Pekárková.
In Prague, the Naděje organization also runs a surgery where they take care of homeless people. The ambulance has been on U Bulhara Street below the Prague highway since 2006 and is part of a low-threshold center for homeless people. The office of a general practitioner, gynecologist and dentist is visited daily by about 25 people, the regional director of the Naděje organization, Daniel Svoboda, told ČTK earlier. General practitioner twice a week, other specialists once a week.
Other surgeries for the homeless are also in Pardubice, Pilsen and Olomouc, where the services are provided by Caritas and a private doctor.
The Salvation Army operates day centers, dormitories and shelters. According to Krupa, the organization now operates in 20 cities in six regions in the Czech Republic. The services are financed mainly by subsidies from the state, regions and cities. However, according to the management, the costs will not be covered, collections and overnight stays help.